MICHAEL "SPIKE" KROUSEBy Jeremy Joven
An artist, bar owner, father and a husband - Michael “Spike” Krouse proves you can have it all - but of course it takes more than just falling in to the right place at the right time. It takes a lot of heart passion and hard work to cultivate success - Michael, has passion and drive to spare.

Success doesn’t come easily in our world of short attention spans and endless competition, but with a lot of sweat mixed in with determined focus and the uncanny ability to roll with the punches and evolve with the changing times you can succeed in almost anything.

Over three years ago after acquiring Madrone, the birth of his second child and art career - Michael found himself contemplating the state of his new life and how he will make time for his first love, painting. For the last three years his hard work manifested itself in the amalgamation of all his experiences and gave way for the thriving hub of community and art - Madrone Art Bar.

There aren’t very many business owners, especially in the nightlife business that see beyond profitability. If you’ve been lucky enough to meet “Spike”, as his friends call him, it wouldn’t be hard to see why it is that makes our list of inspiring locals.

“I think of the bar as a living-breathing environment where the people that come here become part of the interaction and experience every night.” Krouse’s unwavering support for local talents is admirable. Madrone is a place where musicians can find a venue to play without worrying about bar sales - comedians have a stage to do stand-up to an appreciative crowd and where people from all sorts of lifestyles dance all night to music from jazz to electronica.